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Sheriff Joe Arpaio raises nearly $10M for tough re-election campaign

Sheriff Joe Arpaio: A newsmaker, in every sense

Sheriff Joe Arpaio chats with inmates inside Tent City Jail on May 10, 1995. Arpaio stayed inside Tent City for a night to prove it was safe and that an inmate could survive without "luxuries" such as hot lunches, coffee and cigarettes.
The Republic

Sheriff Joe Arpaio: A newsmaker, in every sense

Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Field Training Officer Renee Ansley shows off the infamous "pink underwear" that inmates have to wear at the Tent City Jail in Phoenix.
David Wallace/The Republic

Sheriff Joe Arpaio: A newsmaker, in every sense

With copies of his book close by, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio chats with fans at the Fountain Hills Festival of Arts and Crafts in 2012. The sheriff was helping raise money for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Youth Assistance Foundation through the sale of pink underwear, T-shirts and other mementos.
The Republic

Sheriff Joe Arpaio: A newsmaker, in every sense

Sheriff Joe Arpaio has always felt comfortable with the media. Here, the lawman who was dubbed "America's Toughest Sheriff" appears with a TV crew as part of a Fox Reality Channel original series.
Fox Reality Channel

Sheriff Joe Arpaio: A newsmaker, in every sense

Many a celebrity has shared a spotlight with Sheriff Joe Arpaio over the years, from martial arts movie star Steven Seagal to former NBA All-Star player Shaquille O'Neal. In April, TV star Pamela Anderson, a spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, toured the sheriff's food factory in west Phoenix to tout what was billed as the first all-vegetarian meal in U.S. jails.
Nick Oza/The Republic

Sheriff Joe Arpaio: A newsmaker, in every sense

Inmate Amanda Bertagnolli spends time with a puppy in 2007 at MASH, a Maricopa County organization that rescues abused dogs and puts them up for adoption. Sheriff Joe Arpaio's animal-aid programs have long bolstered his popularity.
The Republic

Sheriff Joe Arpaio: A newsmaker, in every sense

Sheriff Joe Arpaio has drawn his share of hatred during his six terms in office, including death threats, several of which resulted in arrest. In August 2000, Maricopa County sheriff's deputies investigated threats left in Tempe bus stations and on city poles.
MCSO

Sheriff Joe Arpaio: A newsmaker, in every sense

A documentary on Sheriff Joe Arpaio by filmmaker Randy Murray, "The Joe Show," was featured at the 2014 Phoenix Film Festival. The film touched on some of the more controversial events during Arpaio's tenure, including in-custody deaths of jail inmates. Murray said the documentary is not meant to be a damning profile, but about "the failing relationship between democracy and the media and the superpowers of fame."
Randy Murray Productions

Sheriff Joe Arpaio: A newsmaker, in every sense

Many office holders and office seekers have sought Sheriff Joe Arpaio's support -- and Arpaio was almost always ready and willing to share the spotlight. In July, Arpaio waves to a crowd of thousands after speaking during a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the Phoenix Convention Center.
Cheryl Evans/The Republic

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Sheriff Joe Arpaio: A newsmaker, in every sense

Sheriff Joe Arpaio chats with inmates inside Tent City Jail on May 10, 1995. Arpaio stayed inside Tent City for a night to prove it was safe and that an inmate could survive without "luxuries" such as hot lunches, coffee and cigarettes.

PHOENIX — The sheriff of metropolitan Phoenix has raised close to $10 million in his bid for a seventh term, a stunning collection of campaign riches for a local police race, and much of it was contributed by a devoted base of backers who live outside Arizona.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio's fundraising far exceeds the amount normally spent by both the winning and losing candidates in a typical congressional race.

"Most people would think that you mistakenly added a zero to that number," said Heath Brown, a public policy professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York who studies the role of money in politics.

The 84-year-old sheriff is facing the toughest campaign of his career. His political strength has gradually slipped over the past four election cycles, but loyal local supporters and impressive fundraising have helped him pull out wins.

Waning popularity isn't Arpaio's only challenge. The lawman who cultivated a national reputation for being tough on accused criminals is at risk of being charged in a contempt-of-court case. A judge is considering whether to recommend criminal charges against the sheriff for ignoring court orders in a racial-profiling lawsuit.

Arpaio's leading challengers say they can't hope to match his fundraising, so they are focusing more on grass-roots efforts.

Arpaio out-of-state contributions

A large majority of the people making campaign contributions to Joe Arpaio live outside Arizona. An analysis by The Associated Press of available campaign-finance data found that 83 percent of contributors who gave him more than $50 live in other states.

The top five states for Arpaio contributors:

-- Arizona, accounting for 17 percent of all contributions that exceeded $50.

-- California, 16.6 percent.

-- Texas, 8.5 percent.

-- Florida, 5.5 percent.

-- Washington3.1 percent.

The AP analysis covers only 60 percent of the $9.9 million that Arpaio has raised so far. But the names, addresses and donation amounts for the remaining contributors were not publicly available because their aggregate individual donation did not exceed $50.

Arpaio's campaign, which isn't required to provide itemized information on such contributors, declined a request from the AP for the missing information.

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Dan Saban, a former police chief running in this month's GOP primary, has raised $30,000. Getting his message out can be difficult, Saban said, given that Arpaio has spent two decades carefully crafting an image as an effective law enforcer.

"How do you compete with that?" he asked.

The influx of out-of-state donations fuels criticism that outsiders have emboldened Arpaio, leaving Phoenix taxpayers to pay the hefty legal bills that result when his jail and immigration policies are tested in court.

Contributors from other states account for three-fourths of its money, the sheriff's campaign said.

The Associated Press obtained the names, addresses, occupations and donation amounts for those who gave more than $50 during the course of the campaign. They make up about 60 percent of contributors. The same information was not available for donations that did not surpass $50 because those contributions are not required to be itemized.

Arizona was home to the largest number of donors who gave more than $50, followed by California, Texas, Florida and Washington. Contributors included retirees, self-employed business operators and people who worked in law enforcement and served in the military, according to records.

Paul Penzone (left) is running against Sheriff Joe Arpaio for the post of Maricopa County sheriff.
Penzone is a retired Phoenix police sergeant.(Photo: Courtesy of Paul Penzone)

Most of the $5.7 million spent by the sheriff so far has gone toward fundraising. Three-quarters of the money has gone to the political consulting firm run by his campaign manager, Chad Willems.

In fundraising emails, the campaign frequently mentions illegal immigration, complaining that the federal government has released thousands of immigrants responsible for crimes and accusing the Obama administration of engaging in a "witch hunt" by filing a civil rights lawsuit against Arpaio.

Mike O'Neil, an Arizona pollster who has followed Arpaio's career, said the sheriff's campaign war chest can be attributed heavily to his reputation for immigration enforcement, even though he was forced to abandon those efforts in January 2015 in a lawsuit over his business raids that targeted immigrant workers.

"Folks who are incensed about that issue are a ready target" for Arpaio's fundraising efforts, O'Neil said.

Arpaio didn't always stand out as a fundraiser. In his 2008 campaign, he spent $610,000. But in his 2012 race, spending skyrocketed to $8.2 million, a sum that rivaled the amount spent on behalf of the winning candidate in Arizona's last gubernatorial race.

The sheriff declined a request for an interview, but he issued a statement through his campaign saying that in all his elections he has "never seen such an incredible outpouring of support."

Gary Budway, a retired corrections supervisor from Venice, Florida, said Arpaio's law-and-order message inspired him to contribute about $200.

"He is the guy doing the job," Budway said, adding that he admires a man of Arpaio's age who is "still going, fighting for the cause."

Thomas Smith, who gave Arpaio $60, believes the Obama administration has targeted the sheriff unfairly.

Female inmates at the Maricopa County tent city jail listen to Sheriff Joe Arpaio talk to the news media in 1999 before kicking off his bedtime stories program. He played an audio book tape of Star Wars. Michael Chow/The Republic

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio talks about the dangers facing his deputies and other law enforcement officers in their day to day work on the streets of the Phoenix metroplex in 1999. Jack Kurtz/The Republic

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio talks to reporters about the condition of deputy Mark Adams, who was shot and injured while serving a fugitive arrest warrant on July 20, 1999. Jack Kurtz/The Republic

Then-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio answers questions during a press conference at the MCSO Surprise station during the sheriff's crime-suppression sweep in the northwest Valley in October 2009. The Republic

Presiding Disciplinary Judge William O'Neil swears in Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio during the State Bar of Arizona's ongoing disciplinary hearings against Andrew Thomas, former Maricopa County Attorney, Lisa Aubuchon, and Rachel Alexander, two of his assistants. The hearings were held at the Arizona Supreme Court in Phoenix in 2011. Jack Kurtz/The Republic

Sheriff Joe Arpaio denied any wrongdoing in response to a Department of Justice report that slammed his department for civil rights violations in 2011. Arpaio said the report's conclusions were politically motivated by the Obama administration and Democrats, who oppose the Sheriff's policies. Jack Kurtz/The Republic

Sheriff Joe Arpaio responds to questions in 2012 after he announces his accusation that President Barack Obama's online version of his long-form birth certificate and selective service card are fraudulent and forgeries. Charlie Leight/The Republic

Joe Arpaio, the longest-serving sheriff in Maricopa County history, received a Stetson cowboy hat and engraved pistol at a June 9, 2015, party that celebrated his 22 1/2 years in office. Gary Williams/EFE

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio at his new office talks about his legacy in 2015 while he and his Communication Director Lisa Allen digs some files when Arpaio was in Drug Enforcement Agency. Nick Oza/The Republic

Sheriff Joe Arpaio looks up at a video that claims to show evidence about their investigation into President Obama's birth certificate, during a press conference at Maricopa County SheriffÕs Office Training Center in Phoenix on Thursday, December 15, 2016. David Wallace/The Republic

"The people who were complaining about him were complaining because he was doing the right thing. He is just an honest cop. He isn't politically correct," said Smith, who operates a marine repair business in Signal Hill, California.

Glenda Olson, who runs a gunsmith business with her husband in Plains, Montana, said the couple has made small contributions to Arpaio over the years because of his focus on illegal immigration.

She said Arpaio would not "continue to fight at his age unless it was very important."

The amount raised by Arpaio easily eclipses the totals spent by winning sheriff candidates in Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston, according to campaign-finance records. None of them raised more than $1.8 million, and some spent considerably less.

Paul Penzone, a retired Phoenix police officer who is running as Democrat, has raised $160,000. Arpaio outspent him by nearly 14 times in 2012. Penzone lost by 6 percentage points. He said he isn't daunted by his fundraising disadvantage.

"I'll exceed him with sweat equity and a volunteer base," Penzone said, "and just a smarter campaign."